Tell a Lie, but Keep a Secret
by Sora no Hoshi
Summary: After the Shaman Fight, the gang decided to stay together in Funbari Onsen. But a certain brunette is hiding a big secret, and he just might have to keep it forever... [Twincentric fic]
1. Dying Reflection

Disclaimer: IDOSKXD (I Don't Own Shaman King XD)

Summary: After the Shaman Fight, the gang decided to stay together in Funbari Onsen. But a certain brunette is hiding a big secret, and he might have to keep it forever...

Genre: Angst/Mystery/Suspense (?)/Family (?)/Humor (Actually, not really, just my bad sense of humor if anyone can see it in here)

**Dedication**: to Lost in Reality! If it wasn't for her (your) beta and positive comments (despite being a little crazy and fangirlish), I would never have put this up (I think...). So hugs and kisses to her (you)! (Oh, but I read your PM, and you're in for a _big_ surprise if that's what you think X3 _hehehe..._)

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* * *

**_**Tell a Lie, but Keep a Secret**

Chapter One: Dying Reflection

"_Do you know it?"_

"_Yes…and I…need to…ask you…a favor…"_

"_A favor?"_

"_Yes, a very… important…favor."_

"_Anything."_

_**

* * *

**_The brunette arrived back to Funbari Onsen, a grocery bag in each hand, as the sun began to set. "Tadaima!" he called into the crowded inn. 

The itako came to greet him with her hands on her hips. "What took you so long, Yoh?" she demanded.

The boy was dazed for two seconds and, realizing that she's calling him, smiled sheepishly at the blonde. "Ah, well, the store I usually go to was closed for remodeling, so I had to go to the further ones." He said then held up the bags. "I'll go put these in the kitchen now."

Anna scoffed but let him pass. The headphone-wearing boy trudged to the kitchen, where Ryu is readying the rest of dinner while waiting for the missing supplies.

"Here, Ryu." The brunette gained the older man's attention, and gave him one of the bags.

"Arigatou, danna." The Elvis-style man thanked the younger shaman and the said younger shaman, after acknowledging the gratitude, went to put away the other bag of grocery for future uses.

After doing that, the younger of the two turned to the older. "Ah, Ryu, do you nee—"

"KISAMA!" a loud shout interrupted them as two figures quickly dashed past the entrance of the kitchen, soon followed by another one holding a long 'something'.

The brunette went into the hall and turned his head, only to see Ren, his ever mysterious tongari(spike) in his hair once again growing, chasing after a certain Ainu and their African-American friend.

The concerned shaman stepped out of the kitchen, intending to stop them, when someone else did it for him, quite unwillingly. The boy cringed at the sight before him, as the Ainu tripped over a person in wheelchair, the comedian just behind him falling as well on top of the necromancer on the bottom. The Chinese shaman, not able to stop himself fall as well, but he's okay, since the other three broke his fall.

Faust pushed them off roughly with one hand. "Someone here has no legs, and would like _not_ to get caught in your little fights." He told them.

The three quickly scrambled up and helped the man back into his wheelchair. "So what happened?" the brunette came up to them.

"Oh, Yoh-kun!" Faust greeted. "These three were playing Cat and Mouse, and they ran into me."

The Asakura smiled. "Sounds fun! Can I play?"

Ren fumed. "We were _not_ playing Cat and Mouse! These two bakas were irritating me!"

The headphone-wearing boy raised an eyebrow. "What did they do?"

Horo Horo turned angrily toward the Tao. "We were just joking about your tongari! You don't have to get mad!" he turned to the brunette. "Mr. Serious here apparently can't take a joke."

Chocolove nodded and crossed his arms. "I just happen to be right there and a small snicker might have escaped my throat somehow." He said.

Ren's tongari grew again. "A small snicker? You were laughing your head off!"

The leader of the group raised his hands. "Calm down, guys. Now, Ren, what did they say about you?" he asked.

The Chinese shaman apparently didn't want to say it, so the bluenette took the liberty to answer. "All I did was comment that his tongari is like a thermometer measuring his anger instead of the temperature." He said, holding back his laughter. The comedian off to the side had to turn away as he shook to hold back his giggles. The Tao fumed.

To his utter diamay, the brunette before him and the doctor started to snicker slightly too.

"KISAMA!" he repeated the phrase from earlier, and raised his Kwan Dao threateningly when a small voice interrupted them.

"Erm, Yoh-sama?" the brunette turned to the shy girl addressing him. "Aa?"

The pink-haired girl fidgeted nervously. "Er, um…Anna-sama says that, if you're too loud, then all of you won't have dinner." She muttered.

The headphone-wearing boy turned to the others. "Hear that, guys? No dinner if you don't calm down."

Ren sputtered angrily. "They started it!"

"How about this," Faust gained their attention, "Horo, apologize for joking about Ren's hair and for laughing; Chocolove, say sorry to Ren for bursting out in laughter."

The Ainu crossed his arms furiously and turned away. "Sorry." He muttered.

The comedian turned to the Tao. "Laughing is good for you." He told the boy with saffron eyes.

"Chocolove!" The brunette and the doctor scolded.

"Okay, okay. Sorry, Ren." He apologized.

The Tao turned away angrily. "Fine, I'll let it slide _this_ _time_." He then headed in the direction of his room to fume silently, apparently not intending on letting it slide at all.

At that moment, a girl came around the corner, heads turning as if searching for something. When she spotted Horo, she immediately brightened. "Nii-chan!" she called.

"Yes, Pilika?" The Ainu calmed down from his anger and turned to his sister.

The ecstatic girl held up a small notepad. "Here's your training schedule, starting now!" she suddenly turned evil-like, as an unknown fire burned in the background. "I won't let you rest until you did them all!"

"What?!" Horo stared at the miniscule letterings. "It's the end of the Shaman Fight! We beat Hao for Great Spirits sake, Pilika! Give me a break!"

Pilika pouted. "No! If you slack off, then you'd be out of shape, and no girl would come for you!"

The bluenette strained to read the writing. After a while, he gave up and turned to his sister again. "I thought you're busy doing 'girl stuff' with Jun?"

The Ainu girl put her hands on her hips. "But she went back to China last week! You should be happy that I even gave you a week to rest." She took a speaker phone out of nowhere. "Now TRAIN!" she commanded.

With tears streaming down his eyes, Horo slowly jogged off. "Yes, Pilika…"

The headphone-wearing brunette laughed heartedly at the scene. Then he felt a chill as a cold voice sounded behind him. "Yoh…"

He slowly turned around. "Yes, Anna?" A feeling of doom dawned upon him.

The itako crossed her arms in authority. "Don't think just because you came back too late for the five o'clock training, you don't have to do them. You've got twenty minutes before dinner, go do them now." She told him and left

Streams of tear also trailed down the brunette's face. "Yes Anna…" he answered just before the blonde was out of earshot.

As the Asakura left in a hurry, he passed a certain dowser that just turned the corner. Noting the tear on the brunette's face, Lyserg turned to the other two quizzically. "What happened to Yoh-kun?"

"Training." They answered in unison.

Realization reached the green-haired boy's face. "Ah...I see."

Funny how that's all that is needed to be said.

_**

* * *

**_Training, consisted of two thousand sit-ups, two thousand push-ups, and ten minutes of 'invisible chair', has become the daily five o'clock routine set by Anna-sama herself. Which means, in the short span of twenty minutes, only ten minutes can be spend on push-ups and sit-ups, meaning he has five minutes to do each of them. 

So the brunette is found frantically trying to finish all that in the front yard while Horo ran his hundred laps around the Funbari Onsen. Five minutes before they are done, a short blonde came into view; he saw the brunette and waved.

"Hey, Yoh-kun; I hope you don't mind my coming over." He said and walked up to the boy who's doing 'invisible chair'.

The boy smiled at his friend. "No problem; I was going to invite you over anyways, but a certain event kept me from doing so." He told the short boy, remembering the chase.

"Okay. Well, good luck with that; I'm going in first." The blonde boy told his friend, thinking that the 'certain event' is training, and headed inside. The brunette waved at his friend and smiled before concentrating on keeping himself up.

_**

* * *

**_The headphone-wearing boy stared at the crowd surrounding the table. Anna doesn't like big commotions, but he doesn't mind. 

_Friends are…nice…yes…friends are really nice…_

"YOH!" a sudden shout snapped him out of his thought. He turned quickly to Horo next to him. "What?"

The Ainu sighed. "You space out too easily, Yoh. I've been calling you for like ten times."

The boy smiled sheepishly. "Gomen ne. What is it?" The others are all in their own conversation, except Anna, who's silently eating dinner, a keen ear daring anyone to talk badly about her. Of course, that means whenever her name was mentioned, an entourage of praises has to decorate the before and after before they can go on and say what they wanted to.

The bluenette smiled. "I've been thinking, you should change your name to Hao." The brunette paled considerably, but the Ainu didn't notice. "I mean, since you're Shaman 'King' now, it is only reasonable." Horo laughed, but the boy only lowered his head, his dark bangs covering his eyes. "Of course, I was just joking." The ice shaman finished. (1)

Manta, who had just ended a conversation with Pilika, turned to talk with his best friend, and noticed that something's weird with the brunette. "Yoh-kun? What's wrong?"

That caught everyone's attention. To them, Yoh is their leader and the one who changed their lives. The headphone-wearing boy seems to snap out of it suddenly and smiled at his blonde friend. "Nothing, Manta." He stood up. "Excuse me for a sec." he went into the hall.

They looked curiously after him. "What happened to him?" Chocolove voiced everyone's question. Anna however, stood up and walked over to Horo. Then, without warning, gave him a hard slap.

The Ainu fell. He sat up holding his face. "What was that for?!"

The ice queen stared down at him. "Yoh is very sensitive about the fact that he killed Hao."

Horo's eyes widened. "Oh; my bad; I should go apologize." He stood up.

"Yeah, you should." Anna said coldly, and glared after the Ainu until he left.

_**

* * *

**_Inside the upstairs bathroom, the brunette took off his headphones and laid them on the sink counter after closing and locking the door. He then looked up and stared at the mirror above the sink, his eyes wide and distant. 

"It's been half a year…" The boy lifted a hand and slightly touched his reflection. "We look so much alike…" he chuckled without humor. "What am I saying? We're twins, after all."

He looked down, frowning, his face scrunched up in pain. "Why did he have to die?" He turned back to the reflection. "We look…exactly alike. The longer haired version of this reflection…died, so that _I_ can be here."

He touched the face in the mirror again, this time laying his whole palm on it. "Why? Why did one of us have to die? You…deserved to be saved...you didn't deserve to die...at all." He clenched his fist.

A samurai spirit appeared behind him. "You don't have to push yourself so much." Amidamaru said in concern.

The boy glanced back. "Of course I do; it was my fault he died, after all." An expression of regret appeared on his face. "If only I wasn't so weak at that time—"

"But you didn't want to kill him!" Amidamaru protested.

"I had intended to before." The boy responded simply.

Amidamaru frowned. "I bet he really didn't want to kill you either…"

The boy suddenly turned back. "Amidamaru, are you hiding something from me?"

The samurai spirit has an expression of shock on his face. He shook his head. "I assure you that anything I know, you already knew. If anyone's hiding anything, it would be you who are hiding something from everyone—"

The brunette suddenly has a dangerous look on his face. He approached the ghost and pointed a finger at the samurai spirit. "Listen, Amidamaru. You are just as guilty as I am. If you utter this to anyone—"

"Yoh?" he paused as he heard the distant voice of the Ainu coming up stairs.

Sighing, he picked up the headphones and, taking one last look at his reflection, put them on, unlocked the bathroom door and went out. Facing the bluenette, he smiled. "What is it?"

The ice shaman fidgeted. "Look, I'm sorry for what I said at dinner, I—"

The brunette went forward and patted Horo's shoulder. "Don't worry about it; you didn't know." He smiled. "Let's just get back; I'm a lot better now. I'm sure the others are worried."

The Ainu brightened and nodded. The two then went down stairs and rejoined everyone for dinner, after the Asakura apologized profusely for his absence that worried everyone and a glare from Anna, who told him that his training would be doubled the next day. Everything is right again.

Or so they thought.

* * *

A/N: Well, this story probably won't be that long and, in my opinion, probably won't be as good as the other fics, but I still hope my readers support it. (I will add Japanese key if requested, but otherwise just hope everyone knows it). 

(1) - In Japanese, the 'Ha' in Hao means the same as Yoh, which means leaf. The 'o', usually spelled as 'ou' in different words, means 'king'.

Did anyone figure out what the secret is through the little dialogue in the beginning? It wasn't that hard, but it's not that obvious either. Anyways, kudos to everyone that figured it out! But if you figured it out, don't say what it is! Just tell me if you know or not.


	2. Waking Identity

Summary: After the Shaman Fight, the gang decided to stay together in Funbari Onsen. But a certain brunette is hiding a big secret, and he might have to keep it forever...

Genre: Angst/Mystery/Suspense (?)/Family (?)/Humor (Actually, not really, just my bad sense of humor if anyone can see it in here)

I decided that each chapter will be dedicated to the best reviewer! No single reviewer will get the dedication more than once though :3

Dedication (Chapter): Silverleaf Ishtar!! Your "deserves to be read over and over again" comment touched my soul here -points- Well not really but it makes me feel all proud inside :D

**Dedication (Fic)**: to Lost in Reality! This wonderful young lady (I do sure hope you're a girl. It would be quite awkward if you're not...) is the awesome beta for this story(which I have never expected to get more than ten reviews in the first chapter, according to previous experiences). I've decided just to whatever with it and dedicate the whole story to her. Why not? She's a wonderful beta and her comments are more than encouraging. (I do make certain changes, however, so any mistake found is definitely mine)

Warning(Which also appplies to all the rest of the chapters): Because of my tendency to leave lengthy review replies, the chapter is shorter than it appears to be. Do not get your hopes up, do not complain the misleading-ness. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!

**Replies to Reviews**: (I know there is a review reply system, but there are some questions that many people asked, so I feel that everyone has a right to know(including readers that do not review; I have nothing against them), and if I reply to one, it would only be fair if I reply to all. Watch out confused people, the answers to your questions may just be in these replies.)

i am not imaginary: Here's the update! Thanks for being the first reviewer of this story!! Hmm...I love chatting with my reviewers so since after replying to three reviewers after this I feel like I'm mistreating you by having such a short reply, I'll just say XD yay you're cool too. Thanks for all the reviews! I am fine with readers that do not review or simply alert/fav but I like reviewers too. I appreciate all their positive comments. They really encourage me to write. I mean, if I only got one review, I might feel dispirited and wait for more reviews. However, I don't like the writers that ask for people to review in exchange for updates. In my opinion, writers like us should write for the pleasure of self or others that enjoy our stories, not for getting reviews and putting down those who do not review. Uh...yeah...sorry if you think this is a bunch of rant...but the reply is long now :D. Hope you don't prefer short ones. Do tell me if you do, since I would feel bad to ramble to you and make you read all this.

Arashi04 san: Well, I have officially watched the anime as of last summer. This is actually a mix of both, since some have not watched the anime and some have not read the manga. Faust missing his legs is from the manga. He gave them to Eliza, and decided to use Frankenstein (I think?) His skeletal dog as replacement whenever he fights. Simply said, I didn't like the confusing ending in the manga (it was really confusing, believe me), so I used the anime ending, which is easier to work with. I'd like to go with whichever is better for me to work with, which is mostly from the manga since I read the manga before I watch the anime. Feel free to ask any questions that you have. By the way, thanks, I need that luck. Don't know what you're really talking about, but I need it to dodge the flying pandas that my friend throws at me well telling me to update, saying that I'm disappointing my readers or something...

Sakura no Umi: Well, thanks for the compliment. I appreciate the comment even though it was only the first chapter. However, I can't tell you the secret. That's the whole point of the story. It would ruin the entire point for the secret to be revealed now. But for some much much much much smarter people who may have brains ten times larger than the largest watermelon in the world and figure out...well, good for them. Hope you keep reading though. More hints will be revealed throughout the story, until at one point maybe everyone would figure it out before the story gets to that point. If not...well yay, good for me! This is my first mystery story (ever), after all. (oh, and I very much thank you for being so polite in your review.)

phantomshadowdragon: Well, I shouldn't answer any of your questions since mystery is the whole point of the story, but I did mention that this is a twincentric story, so I'll just tell you (and anyone else who is reading this) that by deductive reasoning yes, the first conversation should be between Hao and Yoh if my memory serves correctly (let me remind you that my memory has failed me more times then it has not in my life). I cannot tell you what Amidamaru is hiding though. That you'll have to figure out for yourseld, or wait until the last two chapter or so. Love your enthusiasm though.

Hikari Aiko: Awww...thanks! Yes I will definitely continue this. How can I not, after receiving such wonderful responses from such wonderful people? Even people who review because they have questions find the time to put in a compliment or two amongst their questions. You reviewers make me sooooooooo happy! I'm glad you think it's a nice start. I spend a lot of time wondering how to make the first chapter interesting to catch more attention, but I still am not sure. Thanks for the comment! I really appreciated it! I mean, I'm so glad that people liked it. This is the most reviews for the first chapter that I've ever gotten. No matter how the responses go as time goes on (either acending or decending), I will still be proud of the first chapter for that.

Hikariri: Glad you're loving this story (: since I was nervous about the responses when I put it up. I only put it up, too, because Lost to Reality encouraged me to. I'm so happy about the reviews I got. I'm glad you think this is mysterious, since that's what I'm aiming for. Don't worry about the beginning. Not many people figured it out, if any at all. It could, in fact, be anything. Remember that this is a twincentric fic, like all my other fics. The thing is that I intend to put a little bit of italicized words in the beginning of each chapter if I can. Here's the update, although I don't know if this is soon enough...

Nephra: Thanks for the compliment. I love the twins too! SO MUCH (Can you BELIEVE it:O) Here's the update. Thanks so so so so so much for the fav! You are one of the six people that contributed to this new story of mine. I won't compare my story with other much better and more well-liked stories, but I do fully appreciate your contribution to the small number of people that fav-d my story. It makes me feel loved (well, more like makes my story fell loved, but since it cannot feel, I will feel in its place). I never thought that my story would get such a positive response when I posted it.

Lost to Reality: Lazy-butt! You know why I underlined your name? Because you beta'd for me? No::throws a duck at Lost-san:: That's why! Gosh, you and Yue-san, the both of you! That aside, yes I called you crazy and a fangirl, but in a good way! How, I don't know, but there's a part in there somewhere that makes me look good and angelic so go find it when you're free. Don't worry, my glares don't send daggers (more like shooting off 22-calibers but that's not the point here) I won't kill my precious beta XD. (::mutter::notthatitistheonlyreasonIwouldkeepyoualive::mutter::) Yep, you're wrong, but I'm sure you'll get closer to the truth as I send you more chapters, and eventually BAM, there it hits you like a filled double-doored metallic refrigerator, you laugh at yourself and wonder why you haven't thought of such an obvious thing before! Ha, and about the WD memory thing? Well, whether or not people want it I'm still gonna have Yoh have a bit of his memory since I have to tie up the lose ends. But I write to serve, after all, so I will try my best to compromise.

KiraLacus Forever: Nah, even though this is a twincentric fic, it won't be a HaoYoh fic. As much as I wish that I could write something like that, romance is just not my forte. So, not only will it not be a HaoYoh fic, it won't be a anyonexanyone fic at all! With the exception of FaustEliza, of course, since it is a default pairing. It will not be focused on though, just an obviously-paired-up kinda thing. What was Yoh really guilty about? What was anyone really guilty about? Ha, wouldn't you like to know? Yes, of coruse you do, that's why you're still reading. It will all be revealed in due time.

Yue-eternal: You and Lost-san, you peoplez! You know why I underlined your name? I think you know. You would if you read Lost-san's reply. Yeah, you better be ready for it::throws a goose at Yue-san:: You better see it coming::cough:: anyways...yeah, another story, yay me. Now I'm loaded with three fics and one evil English teacher...the joy of finger-killing. I'm still working on the collab fic chapter. Might take a while, but I'll get it done, I promise. Heh heh...sorrrrrrrrrry about that. If you feel I'm too slow, you can always just take over for one chapter if you want, but with the load that you have, especially since you're already in college, I wouldn't bet on it. Good luck in life, ne?

Silverleaf Ishtar: Like I said, I really liked your comment about my story turning into the story you described it to be. I'm not sure it will be up to your expectations, but I will try my hardest. This story doesn't have much physical fighting and such, after all. It's mostly the mental aspects. I hope you're ready for some nightmares (for a certain character in the story, not you XD) Well, I thought it wasn't that hard, but from the responses I've been getting, I guess it is O-O. Don't worry, though, more hints will be given out, and by the time the secret is revealed, everyone would have already figured it out. I think...well, if someone didn't, it wouldn't mean that s/he is dumb, since I don't want it to be figured out. I just hope it's not too easy though. Haha I think I'm confusing you. Well, don't worry, this fic is short; the secret will be out in no time.

* * *

Chapter Two: Waking Identity

'_How unusual...' The brunette mused as he walked through wet grains, soaked in rain water._

'_A storm in a desert.'_

_Why...was the sky crying?_

_**

* * *

**_A pair of dark eyes blinked as he slowly regained consciousness. He opened his eyes fully and looked around the room he is in. The walls are all white, there's some sort of mechanism to his left, and there are lines from the mechanism that end in small patches connected to his body. 

He suddenly became aware that he is in a very white bed, with white sheets and a white pillow. Looking to his right, he saw a small curtained window, and can tell through the small space in between the closed curtain that it is bright outside. He wasn't aware that the door to the other side had opened, and a voice made him turn around sharply.

"Oh, you're awake. How are you feeling?" a man with some sort of device around his neck and a clipboard in his hand asked with a smile. The boy in bed noted that this man is also wearing white; a coat, in fact.

"I…" he opened his mouth to speak, and found that he has a clear and light voice. He didn't know why he doesn't know he has such a voice. "I'm confused." He admitted.

The man nodded. "Do you remember what happened?"

The boy cocked his head to one side. "Don't people usually ask for names in this case?"

The man smiled. "Yes, but your little friend already told me your name." as he said that, a small girl came out from behind the man in white coat, and seems to brighten at the sight of the boy in the bed.

"Hao-sama!" she chirped and skipped to the bed. "Opacho was so scared! She thought that Hao-sama had died!"

The boy in the bed looked down at her weirdly. "Hao-s...who are you?" he demanded of the girl.

The girl looked up with sad eyes. "Doesn't Hao-sama remember Opacho?" she's almost in tears.

The boy looks even more confused. "Opacho? Wait, who's Hao-sama? Is that my name?"

Opacho stared in shock and confusion as the man behind her realized something. He went to the clipboard and jotted something down. Then he walked over and put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Mr. Asakura, it seems that you have a very severe case of Amnesia."

"Amnesia?" the boy looked in confusing up at the man, his long hair swaying to the other side as he turned his head.

"Yes," the man answered. "I might have to do some checkups on you later, but if you want to dress in your own clothing, they're on that chair over there." He indicated with his pen in a direction while staring at the clipboard. After a while, he left the room, leaving the boy alone with the small girl.

Opacho stared up at the brunette curiously. "Does Hao-sama not remember anything?"

The boy turned to the African girl. He pointed to himself. "Am I Hao-sama?" the girl nodded. "Then I guess I don't remember anything."

The girl seems quiet for a while as the brunette stood up from the bed and went over to the pile of cloths. They seem familiar yet they don't. On the chair is a folded pair of blue pants, the bottom part covered by red baggy legs held up on the side. Several belts decorated the article of clothing. Next to the pants is a pair of fingerless gloves with Lego blocks on them that say _Hao_, along with stars. A large piece of cloth is draped over the back of the chair, while a pair of Lego shoes rested on the ground in front of it. Beside the chair is a small table where two star earrings lay.

As he changed from the hospital-provided shirts and pants into these articles of clothing, Opacho seems to make a decision that he never told her to make, and bounced over. "That's okay; Opacho will stay with Hao-sama even if he doesn't remember Opacho."

The brunette doesn't know how to respond to that. He was saved from the trouble when the man from before came in. "Okay, I see you're dressed. Please follow me so that I can take you to another room for a quick checkup."

The boy complied, and the girl followed.

As they are walking down the hall, the man holding the clipboard started telling him what happened. "I must introduce myself first. I am Dr. McCale. You are currently in the St. Leo Medical Center. You were pretty lucky; a few more minutes and you would've died. I was really surprised when that girl carried you all the way here by herself." He pointed at the small girl.

The boy seems a bit surprise but nodded. "How long have I been asleep?"

Dr. McCale glanced back at him. "Five months, not counting the time before you were brought here." He said, turning back to the front. "You were right on the border of life and death, even after our every attempt to heal you. Just three weeks ago your condition finally started to turn better. It wasn't until one week ago that you finally stabilized." He informed the boy behind him.

The man continued. "Anyways, the diagnosis shows that you have a severe wound on your head and chest, their causes unknown. You are also found with several serious bruises all over your body, and old scars here and there. After a while of examination, however, we found that once you started recovering, you recover fairly fast, and you should be able to check out; if you want, I can introduce you to a few mental rehabilitation centers nearby that..."

"Hao-sama does not need to go to that kind of places." Opacho said resolutely, cutting him off.

Dr. McCale stared at her for a while, before turning to the long-haired boy for confirmation.

The boy smiled slightly. "I guess I won't go to a recovery center." He told the doctor. He doesn't know why, but a place like that just doesn't appeal to him. He was kind of glad that the small girl objected.

Dr. McCale nodded. "Very well, then as soon as we're done with a final checkup, you're free to go if all results turn out positively."

_**

* * *

**_"So," the brunette started as he sat on a rock in the outskirts of the city they were in, "how'd you find me?" he asked the African girl before him. 

The small girl thought for a while. "Well…"

_-Flashback-_

_It has been two weeks since the end of the Shaman Fight, and Opacho still regretted abandoning Hao. She wandered about, not really having a goal, as the only one she ever could depend on since she was born was the pyromaniac._

_As she was wandering around the rocky cliff area of the desert, she spotted a limp figure in a cave inside the cliff. She slowly and cautiously, but curiously, approached it._

_When she was no more than five feet from the figure, she realized who it is. "Hao-sama!" She yelled and rushed to the figure._

_Weird, the familiar boy's hair is a bit shorter than usual, reaching only to his mid-back instead of all the way to his thighs. But shrugging that off as a result of growth and probably some part of nature cutting it off, she got to the more serious problem at hand._

_The limp body has a big bloody spot both on the head and on the chest. Leaning down to check if he was still alive, Opacho is surprised to find that he is, but just barely so; he is in a state of comatose breathing; his breaths come out slowly and there are long pauses between each breath. _(1)(2)

_Balancing the boy quickly on her back, she ran toward the nearest large city, where she hopes to find a place that can cure the boy._

_-End Flashback-_

"Wait, back up." The long-haired boy said as she finished. The girl looked up at him curiously. "What was that thing about a Shaman Fight?" It sounded familiar, but no matter how hard he thinks about it, nothing comes to mind.

The girl nodded. "Hai. Hao-sama is a shaman, and so is Opacho."

The brunette dimly noted that the girl speaks in third person. He raised an eyebrow. "Like what kind of shaman?"

"The kind of shaman that can see spirits, like this." As she said 'this', a spirit popped out from beside her. "This is Opacho's spirit, named Mama."

The boy sitting on the rock flinched back in surprise, before leaning forward to stare at the spirit. "Oh-kay, so does that mean that I have a spirit too?" he asked the girl before him.

"Hao-sama used to have a spirit." She told him.

The boy looked at her in question. "Used to?"

Opacho looked up at him. "It is a long story. Does Hao-sama still want Opacho to explain?"

The boy before her sat back. "I would say that I have a lot of time and sure why not, but I really don't want to listen to long explanations, so no." He feels lazy. He wonders if this is an after effect of being wounded, or if he's always like this.

"Okay, then Opacho won't tell Hao-sama." She said simply. Then she approached the older shaman. "What should we do now?" she asked him.

The brunette stood up. "You tell me; I don't even know where I am or where I came from."

The African girl thought for a while. She then made a decision. "Opacho suggests that we go find Yoh-sama for help."

The boy turned to her. "Yoh-sama? Help?"

Opacho nodded. "Hao-sama has a lot of enemies in the past because he was powerful. Since Hao-sama can't use shamanism, then he would need protection. Yoh-sama is a good person, so Yoh-sama would be willing to help Hao-sama, even though Hao-sama is Yoh-sama's friends' enemy."

Okay, that was confusing, but the long-haired shaman managed to follow. "So who's Yoh?" he asked the smaller girl.

The endless questions make the young girl seem the smarter of the two. "Yoh-sama is Hao-sama's twin brother, but because of another reason that'll take a long explanation, they were separated at birth."

The brunette nodded in understanding. "So, where do we find my twin brother?" (3)

Opacho looked up. "Can Opacho ride on Hao-sama's shoulder?" she asked suddenly.

The older boy was startled by the sudden question. "Huh?"

The girl jumped up and down. "Well, Hao-sama used to always let Opacho ride on his shoulder. So, can Opacho ride on Hao-sama's shoulder?" she asked again.

After taking in that bit of information, the brunette smiled. "Sure." He bent down and, picking up the smaller girl, put her on his shoulder. "So, where to?"

Opacho thinks for a while. "The airport." She finally said.

"The airport?" the older boy raised an eyebrow.

The African girl nodded. "Hai. Since we are in America, Opacho thinks that we need to go to the airport to go to Japan, where Yoh-sama is, since Hao-sama no longer has his spirit."

"But," the boy frowned at the other girl, "we don't have any money."

"Don't worry; Opacho will think of something." The girl replied confidently.

"Okay, if you say so." The boy turned to look down the road. "Which way to the airport?"

_**

* * *

**_The brunette lay against the tree in the cemetery. It was one of the few peaceful afternoons that he enjoys. He contemplated his actions over the past six months, since the end of the Shaman Fight. He'd say that he did pretty well. He was able to act like the carefree brunette that he was supposed to be, and because of recent events, he is free to angst at the mention of the name Hao, and no one would doubt him. 

He closed his eyes to the oncoming breeze. How he wishes it would all go back to normal. Actually, not go back to normal. He wishes that he would wake up one day, and find his twin fully alive, and not as his enemy, but as a…friend. He almost succeeded too, if _that_ hadn't happened.

Letting out a sigh, he watched in serenity as Amidamaru chatted with his old buddies down where most of the graves are. The samurai spirit had stayed in this place for six hundred years, and left these people for the Shaman Tournament. It is only fair to let him have fun with his ghost buddies for a while.

A short blonde boy came and sat down next to him. "Hey, Yoh-kun." He greeted.

The brunette smiled at the blond. "Hi, Manta."

"Yoh, I noticed that you never wore your shirt open anymore. Why is that?" Manta asked out of nowhere.

The boy glanced at the shorter boy. "Why the sudden curiosity?" he smiled at the blonde, answering with another question.

The short genius shrugged. "I happened to notice it, and was just wondering."

The headphone-wearing boy turned to his friend. "Well, do you remember when Ren was killed and Jeanne revived him?" the blond boy nodded. "Well," he continued, "you know Ryu interrupted the process, and then Ren had that scar on him. When I saw that scar, I kinda started to feel uneasy, so I guess it's just self-reassurance." He explained.

Manta nodded in understanding. "I get what you mean; it _did _look pretty nasty."(4)

The brunette puts his hands behind his head. "Yep!" he agreed.

A moment passed before he started talking again. "Hey Manta," he called.

"Yes, Yoh-kun?" the blonde turned to his friend.

"What time is it?" The laidback boy asked casually.

Manta looked down at his watch. "Five fourteen, why?"

The brunette's eyes widened. "The training!" He jumped up. "Oh Great Spirits Anna's going to triple it tomorrow!" He turned to the group of ghosts on the bottom. "Amidamaru, I'm going ahead first, okay?"

When the ghost gave affirmation, the Asakura quickly dashed toward the direction of the Funbari Onsen, Manta quickly following as fast as his short legs would allow him.

_**

* * *

**_The brunette is already doing his four thousand sit-ups when the blonde got to the Funbari Onsen. "Geez, Yoh-kun, you could've waited for a little while." 

The laidback shaman smiled at his friend sheepishly. "Gomen ne, Manta, but if I come back even later, tomorrow's training would be quadrupled instead of tripled."

The blonde sighed. "Fine, I'll guess I can understand your unwillingness to suffer."

Suddenly, there was a loud crash coming from inside Funbari Onsen. The two friends turned their eyes toward the entrance, and saw Horo, followed by Chocolove, flying out of the place, curtsey of Anna's punch as she stood at the door with her fists raised.

Horo immediately shot up. "HEY! Why me too?"

Anna looked at the pair coldly. "Because you just happen to be there and you were in the way." She said and went back inside, slamming the door.

The blonde and the brunette stared at the Ainu and the comedian. "What happened to you two?" the headphone-wearing boy asked but kept on doing his training, knowing that Anna would know if he slacked off.

Horo Horo scoffed. "A certain comedian, namely him," he pointed at Chocolove, "was being a complete idiot and dared to crack a joke about your fiancée." Manta's eyes widened in surprise, and so did his friend's. The Ainu continued. "Apparently, poor little me who just happens to be on the way out to do Pilika's training, was caught in her fist of rage."

A voice appeared behind him, and made the bluenette shiver. "And _why_ aren't you doing your training right now?"

Horo turned around to face his sister. "Er…I…um…was just about to go!" He said, and quickly got up to do his laps.

"Make it two hundred fifty today!" Pilika shouted after her brother, and the trio present can just faintly make out a trail of tears left behind by the older Ainu. They sweatdropped.

_**

* * *

**_(1) Comatose Breathing: A made up term. May be real, but maybe not. 

(2) The symptoms are made up too. I don't really know much about dying and stuff like that O.o

(3) Understanding that the long explanation is troublesome, not understanding what she's saying about the separation and such.

(4) I sure felt queasy...

A/N: Eek, I didn't make much of the gang appear in this one. Oh well, they'll make appearances in the future. I wonder if everyone already figured out what the secret is. I think I gave out very obvious hints in this one. Again, don't tell what the secret is in the review; let other people have a chance!


	3. Haunting Reality

Summary: After the Shaman Fight, the gang decided to stay together in Funbari Onsen. But a certain brunette is hiding a big secret, and he might have to keep it forever...

Genre: Angst/Mystery/Suspense (?)/Family (?)/Humor (Actually, not really, just my bad sense of humor if anyone can see it in here)

I decided that each chapter will be dedicated to the best reviewer! No single reviewer will get the dedication more than once though :3

Dedication (Chapter): Hikariri :) For the continuously repeated "interested" part. I'm not sure if you're still interested after almost an entire year of no update, but your comment really encourages me and I'd just like to thank you with this dedication (if you're still reading, that is )

**Dedication (Fic)**: to Lost in Reality! I would like to take time and ask her (if you are still reading this due to this one-year late update) if you would still like to be my beta (to this story that might not even update for two more years) again. :D

Warning(Which also appplies to all the rest of the chapters): Because of my tendency to leave (moderately) lengthy review replies, the chapter is shorter than it appears to be. Do not get your hopes up, do not complain the misleading-ness. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!

**Replies to Reviews**: (I know there is a review reply system, but there are some questions that many people asked, so I feel that everyone has a right to know(including readers that do not review; I have nothing against them), and if I reply to one, it would only be fair if I reply to all. Watch out confused people, the answers to your questions may just be in these replies.)

Yue-eternal: Gosh, you're ALWAYS too lazy to sign in. As for the update thing…hahaha…yeah…it's been….like…a year? Right. Um….stress? Homework? College? Trauma? Family? Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…well, actually, I'll confess it, I have no excuses for the lateness except laziness (and recent obsession with Phoenix Wright or generally my Nintendo DS since I got an R4). Haha, yeah, it seems like I really like this whole memory thing and, now that I think about it, this whole into the future thing as well (since my next non-existent story focuses on 500 years late like WD does). Well, I must say that although your updates are as late as mine, you also have a lot more stories to worry about so meh to you too :D. Uhhhh sorry I can't give you advice on that story thingy (since it was like millennium ago) but if you still need it (which I'm quite sure you don't), I'd go for a one shot no matter how long it is :D You know, the get-done-with-it kinda thing.

cloudygirl103: This doesn't exactly count as soon, by any means, but uhhhhhhhhhhh here it is? I guess if you can forgive a late-updater like me…ah great, now I feel really bad. Sorry…

Hikariri: I guess I'm not so worried about the reviews as the fact that people lose interest in this story because of my ineptitude…such as updating frequently, my current number 1 problem, heh. Well, I guess even though I say the hints are there, maybe it's only to me since I know the secret. Anyways, keep trying! The secret would be pretty much revealed by the time we get to around chapter 5 (even though it wouldn't be flat out reveled until the end). Have fun reading and thanks for the encouraging review :D

Sakura no Umi: I'm glad you like mystery stories :) And of course, who _wouldn't_ love a twincentric fic :D? Haha, don't feel stupid. I guess it just feels obvious to me since I know the secret already. I bet if I was a reader I wouldn't even know what's going on at all. Sorry if you feel stupid or anything, though…I didn't mean to make you feel any negative thoughts when reading my fics :( I don't really like this chapter but I hope you enjoy anyways :D.

Mikazuki Hime: I'm glad you figured it out! I would feel kinda bad if my hints aren't good enough for even one person to figure out. Thanks for the writer-ego boost :D. Well, here's the (very late) update! If you still feel like enjoying this story, have fun!

Hikari Aiko: Well, the hints will be more and more obvious as the story goes on, so the secret wouldn't really be a secret anymore by the end when it is revealed. The story thanks you for you compliments and even though this is not a soon update, it is an update and I hope that you will enjoy it.

Silverleaf Ishtar: I love Opacho :D She is my favorite of Hao's group (next to Hao himself, of course) You really don't need to thank me for the dedication :) Thank yourself for the awesome and mind-blowing review. This is not a soon update, by any means, and this chapter is not as good as I want it to be, but thanks for believing in me and I'll try to do better in the future.

galliechan: Thanks for the "nice" comment! Here I am continuing it, just about an entire year after the last update hoping that some of my (incredibly nice) readers will come back, but understanding full well that it is completely my fault (and laziness) that will lose me these great people's attention. I hope you'll enjoy the chapter even though it is (in my opinion) not up to my usual standard. I do hope that you'll forgive me for the (terribly) late update

Disclaimer: IDOSK

* * *

**Tell a Lie, but Keep a Secret**

Chapter Three: Haunting Reality

_It may be that I never realized it, but you have always been important to me.  
_

_Is it my nonchalant attitude that drove you away? Is it my cruelty toward you that punished me with your death?_

_If time is ever merciful, it would let me go back and change everything._

_But alas, it is not..._

* * *

"Um, Opacho?" The brunette addressed the girl nervously.

The girl turned to him. "Hai, Hao-sama?"

He turned to her slowly. "When you said you'll think of something, you didn't say it's something like this!" He all but shouted.

Opacho smiled. "Don't worry, Hao-sama has been on Spirit of Fire many times, and this is much safer. Hao-sama is still Hao-sama even if he is Hao-sama without his memories; Hao-sama's natural instincts will kick in and he will be able to get used to it soon." She said, apparently confident in her companion's ability.

"Isn't this illegal?" The boy turned to the younger girl.

"Don't worry, Hao-sama has done illegal things plenty of times." She said casually.

The brunette widened his eyes. "I was a criminal?"

The African girl shook her head. "Hao-sama mustn't use such a human term; Hao-sama had said that since humans are going to die anyways, he doesn't need to worry about their laws."

The long-haired boy decided to ponder over that comment later, but concentrate instead on the situation at hand. Surprisingly, he doesn't feel any of the problems of being high in the air, such as breathing problems; but the height itself is a whole different matter.

The 'something' that Opacho had said that she'd think of involve them sneaking onto the right wing of the plane and using the brunette's poncho to hide them from view, as it blends in with the color of the plane. Then when the plane itself takes off, they climb onto the _top_ of the plane. The African girl had claimed that it's just like flying on Spirit Fire or whatever but the other boy surely has no remembrance of ever being on that spirit, and therefore this action did nothing but scare half his wits out of him.

However, seeing as he has no air pressure problem or any other problems other than freaking out at such an unusual way that a five, at most six years old thought of, he didn't say anything against doing it.

The older boy sighed. "I have nothing to lose anyways."

* * *

_He opened his eyes. He is standing in an elaborate room, with elegant furniture and shelves full of complicated books. There is a desk next to a shuttered window, and a pair of closed floor-touching curtain that must lead to the balcony. A four-poster bed is in a corner of the room, its sheets filled with intricate designs of beautiful patterns. A little distance away from the bed is three comfortable looking couches next to a dead fireplace. A deep blue carpet is below his feet, and there are several beautiful paintings on the wall. A nicely decorated wooden door is to the other side of the room. In another corner of the room is a full length mirror. The mirror, however, is a bit unusual, as it is facing downward, unlike normal full length mirrors that face slightly upward._

_He looked around the room, and found nothing unusual save for the mirror. He went to the shuttered window, wanting to see what it's like outside, as well as what time it is since there is no clock in the room. He found that the shutters simply won't budge. Even when he tried to just separate two leaves with his fingers, they won't move, as if glued together. Frowning, he went to the balcony, and to his surprise, the curtains feel as if they are stuck in place. There are no crevices that allow him to look outside. Slightly panicking he went to the door, and that, as expected, wouldn't move an inch, as if it is part of the wall._

_Frustrated and trapped, he went to the desk, and grabbed a random book from it. Since he's stuck here, he might as well do something productive. The book has no title, and he opened the first page. It is a language he doesn't know. He was about to close the book in irritation something caught his attention. It is an 'i'. That certainly looked English. He'd learned English, since the Shaman Fight was in America. He looked again. There's an 'o' as well. Then there's a capital 'A', and 'H', as well as 'M', 'W', 'X', and 'Y'. Suddenly realizing something, he scrutinized the pages, and realized, in shock, that the letters are reversed._

_As if something suddenly clicked in his mind. He looked around the room, and found the mirror that he saw from before. Dropping the book carelessly, he went to it and looked into his reflection. His eyes saddened. His reflection always made him sorrowful; it reminds him of depressing things. Raising a hand, he gently touched his hand to the mirror, his reflection returning the gesture, and their fingers touched._

_It stayed like that for a while, then he suddenly found himself walking; his reflection is making the move, not him. But of course, if his reflection mimicked his move then he certainly will mimic the move of his reflection. He watched as they approached each other. They are both so close to the point of running into that fragile piece of glass. In a matter of seconds, they would crash. In a matter of seconds they would—_

—_Walk through it. He suddenly found himself facing the other side of the room; but the room is slightly different. The shutters next to the desk are apart, and a slight breeze entered through the open window. The curtains to the balcony are wide open, and a beautiful starry sky can be seen. The door is slightly ajar, and a warm light from the hall filled through it. A fire burnt lively in the fireplace. He turned around at the mirror; it is facing upwards. The fireplace, the door, the window, and the balcony; these things are not visible from the mirror._

_His reflection looked back at him, and did the first action that he didn't mimic; it smiled. It was a gentle smile, but it was also a sad smile. He tried to go in the mirror again, but he found both him and his reflection bump lightly into the cold glass. No sooner has he recovered than the reflection smiled again, this time in anticipation._

_His eyes widened; he knows what's coming. He knows something's going to happen. He reached toward the reflection, but only touched glass. He retracted his hand and looked at his reflection, again in sorrow. His reflection mouthed a word, and his eyes widened in shock at the realization of what the word is. No sooner had it mouthed the word than the mirror cracked. A huge web-like pattern appeared in the middle and spread outward. Soon, the whole thing shattered, and small pieces of glass fell on the ground._

_His eyes looked in horror. No, the glass wasn't supposed to shatter; it wasn't. He didn't even notice he was crying. Bending down, he picked up a small piece of glass and looked into it. A reflection of his stare back tearfully. It is a reflection, yes, but not 'the' reflection. It is not 'the' reflection; it won't be ever again._

The boy jerked awake, panting heavily as perspiration trailed down his face, neck, and whole body. His face is covered in tears; the tears that he was shedding for his pitiful reflection. The window in his room indicates that it's still late at night.

Amidamaru came up beside him. "Daijoubu desu ka?" he asked the brunette.

"I…I…" the boy seems at a loss. "I…NO!" he shouted. Then he gave a scream, filled with agony and pain, not caring if he woke the world, or anyone else for that matter.

The ghost hovered in worry near the boy. "Calm down! It's all right!" He cooed, but it didn't work.

"NO! I KILLED HIM! I _KILLED_ HIM! I…I….NO!" he yelled while holding his head. "IT WAS MY FAULT! _I_ WAS THE REASON HE DIED!"

"Calm down! You didn't kill him! It wasn't your fault!" Amidamaru shouted. "You didn't cause it!"

The door burst open, and light from the hall flooded into the dark room. Ren, whose room was the closest to the brunette's rushed in, Lyserg and Horo quickly behind. Chocolove soon joined them, and Anna and Pilika also arrived from their rooms. Ryu came in behind everyone and lastly, the doctor was helped onto the second floor by Eliza; he lives downstairs due to his legs' inconvenience.

"Yoh, what happened?" Ren was the first to ask, as he was the first to arrive.

Lyserg went forward in concern. "Amidamaru, what happened to Yoh-kun?"

But neither boy nor ghost seemed to notice their entrance.

The brunette is still holding his head, frantically shouting in hysteria. "I DIDN'T WANT IT TO HAPPEN! I CAUSED IT ALL! I KILLED HIM!"

The samurai spirit, on the other hand, was too busy trying to calm the boy. "It wasn't your fault! You didn't choose for it to happen! Please, collect yourself!" He tried to sooth the boy like all the times before, but failing miserably this time.

The group looked at the scene, horrified. After a while, Anna went forward to the brunette, and gave him a hard slap across the face. He stopped. Everyone thought the worse was over, and that Anna's slap somehow was able to bring him back to sense. How wrong they are.

The boy paused for a moment. Then he slowly turned to Anna, his eyes wide. His hands loosened a little, but the look that he gave the girl was filled with…fear?

The blonde looked horrified at the brunette before her. He looked absolutely terrified.

"You…" he whispered in such a soft voice that they had to strain their ears to hear.

"You…" he got a bit louder. "You…YOU!" he suddenly yelled. The once cold and calm itako stood back up to the group in fear.

The brunette went crazy again. "YOU! EVEN _YOU_ WANT TO PUNISH ME FOR KILLING HIM?! YOU…YOU! ALL OF YOU! YOU'RE ALL AGAINST ME! ALL BECAUSE _I_ KILLED _HIM_!" he scooted back against the wall, far from them, his eyes staring at them in fear.

Chocolove went to the front. "Snap out of it, Yoh! Hao deserved to die! He was evil!" he tried to shout senses into the brunette before them. However, those words to the boy are like sound to plants; irrelevant and inexistent.

Instead, he continued to shout from his position beneath the window. "YOU ALL HATE ME FOR IT! NONE OF YOU HAS EVER KILLED A MEMBER YOUR OWN FAMILY BEFORE, SO YOU ALL HATE ME FOR IT!" He frantically scooted to the side once the wall stopped him from going further backward. Soon, he was in the corner of his room, shivering from fear. Tears streamed down his face in rivers.

They are all worried about what to do. As far as they know, slapping him into reality failed. Ryu suddenly stood forward. "Let me do this." He said quietly. They don't know what the older man's going to do, but they nodded; anything to make the boy calm down.

Ryu approached the boy, who stared up at the towering man, terrified. Ryu bent down on one knee. "I'm sorry, danna." He told the brunette, before giving him a hard punch in the stomach, causing the frightened boy to fall unconscious.

"Yoh!" They all rushed forward in concern. Ryu stood up with the boy in his hands.

"Don't worry; he's just unconscious." He went over to the futon and placed the boy back in it.

Anna turned to the samurai spirit. "Amidamaru." She addressed.

The ghost looked up from his gaze at the sleeping brunette. "Hai, Anna-dono?"

The blonde's eyes are cold. "You know something about this, don't you?"

The ghost looked shocked. "No, I…"

But the itako cut him off. "Come downstairs; all of you." She commanded. The group silently left the room, leaving the unconscious boy alone.

* * *

"What happened to him?" Anna interrogated the ghost. They are now in the tea room, nine people sat around it while as many spirits floated about here and there.

Amidamaru looked down. "Just a nightmare; he is suffering from the death of his brother." He said, sticking to the truth; well, he's not saying everything, but it doesn't mean he's lying.

It's reasonable enough; everyone knows that Yoh doesn't like killing, so to make him kill would be torture, and to actually do it is even worse, especially to his own brother.

Ren continued the interrogation. "How long has this been going on?" He asked the Holy Spirit.

Amidamaru frowned as he counted mentally. Finally, he gave an answer. "Since five months ago; but it was never this bad."

They were silent for a while. The brunette had been suffering for _that_ long. "What could've made this time different?" Faust asked the samurai spirit.

"I…" Amidamaru glanced aside. "Probably Horo-dono's comment from last night at dinner…"

Everyone's too occupied with worrying about their friend to glare at Horo as he had on a look of guilt.

"H-How do we s-stop it?" Tamao asked timidly. Everyone wants to know the answer to that question.

The ghost spirit doesn't know, but he knows something else. "He recovers by the end of the night, and forgets about it the next morning."

Chocolove clenched his fist. "Then we can only let things go as they do until we find a solution?" No one wants to answer that question.

Pilika, who had kept quiet, finally spoke. "Should we tell Manta?"

Anna stood up. "Better not. He'll probably suffer more to know that Yoh regrets killing the person that wants to destroy humanity, being a human himself. He wouldn't show it, but no one knows what he's thinking." She headed toward the door. "We should go to sleep now."

When she slid the door open, however, she was met with the brunette, hair messy and eyes wide. His hands are shaking slightly clutched together in front of his chest. "Yoh?" She whispered.

The boy, however, seems to see through her. "Amidamaru, come back." He sounds afraid as he spoke quietly. "Please."

"Yes." The samurai spirit answered, and the group looked worriedly after the boy as the two left.

* * *

A/N: Eep, I have no idea where that came from. Our favorite brunette is suffering from night terrors. I'm so terrible. Hint about the secret in the next chappie, if people haven't figured it out already.

Hmmmmm I didn't really like this chapter. Probably one of the reasons why it took me so long to put it up. Well, that and the fact that there was a huge road block on my writer's path toward the ending of WD, but that doesn't really matter at this moment...I guess?

I hope I myself don't forget what the secret is :D Good thing I have a plot outline somewhere on my computer (somewhere...meaning I have no idea where but maybe I'll find it in the next couple of months)


End file.
